1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control camera system which displays images picked up by a camera through the Internet, and also concerns an image transmission method for such a system.
2. Description of the Background Art
There have been many cases in which various companies place Internet live cameras in their own buildings, showrooms, sightseeing spots, etc. and provide images on their home page so as to introduce their companies and enhance advertising campaigns.
Moreover, there have been many monitoring systems in which monitoring cameras, etc. are connected to the Internet and these images are monitored from a remote place.
In these cases, with respect to functions of the remote control cameras such as the Internet live cameras and monitor cameras, it is necessary to provide a remote controlling operation for directing the camera in a direction desired by the user; however, one camera is not capable of dealing with a plurality of accesses.
In particular, with respect to sites which transmit video images of the Internet live cameras that can be remote-controlled by a predetermined user, those sites having many accesses have a plurality of live cameras; however, one live camera only deals with one access, with the result that the live cameras are not effectively utilized.
Moreover, the installation of a number of Internet live cameras results in installations of computers (servers) and necessitates the constant connections of the respective cameras to the Internet, causing high installation costs.